By Arun Rao
Manufacturing Interlinings from Rs 5 to Rs 80 per Metre
The Mittal family with operations in Burhanpur, Mumbai and Surat has the capabilities to manufacture and supply woven and nonwoven interlinings beginning from Rs 5 to Rs 80 per metre or practically the most in demand range of interlinings. This was made possible due to the addition of a nonwovens production unit in which, Essbee produces interlinings ranged between Rs 5 to Rs 15 per metre, while the range above Rs 15 per metre is produced through their conventional textile technologies.
Legacy of the Mittal Family: From Trading to Manufacturing
“My grandfather the late Mr Surajbhan Mittal laid the foundation of our woven interlinings business beginning with trading in fabrics in 1970 in Mumbai. He foresaw potential for additional growth in the interlinings business, so he along with my father and uncles set up a production plant to produce woven interlinings in 1987 under the name of Annapurna Calendaring Works and Ambey Processors in Burhanpur in Madhya Pradesh,” Mr Ayush Mittal, Director at Essbee Nonwovens LLP said while speaking with The Textile Magazine.
Annapurna Calendaring Works which has a built up area is around 80,000 sq. feet included a fabric process house and later on, a coating line was also added and has an installed capacity of 1.75 crore metres per year, with four stenters and other related machineries, while the second production facility which houses the coating lines has a production capacity of 1.5 crore metres per year.
The fabrics for the interlinings are woven on a contract basis since Burhanpur is a hub for woven fabrics. The woven interlinings are sold directly to traders and garment manufacturers in all the major garment manufacturing hubs across India and also through the wholesale channel for supplying to tailors.
Diversification into Sublimation Digital Printing for Ethnic Wear
The Mittal family also got into sublimation printing of polyester fabrics in 2017 destined for sarees, dupattas, and garment fabrics, whose production capacity is around 24 lakhs metres per annum. They offer traditional prints like Bagru, Ajrak, Dabu, etc and so although the sarees with traditional printing are sold Rs 50,000, the Mittal family manufactures and supplies it for just Rs 500. “The fabric may be different but the creation and look of the fabric is similar to those with traditional prints. For these fabrics, we are associated with major ethnic wear brands,” Mr Mittal explained.
Establishment of Essbee Nonwovens LLP in Surat
In 2022, the late Mr Sunil Mittal and family set up Essbee Nonwovens LLP, which manufactures nonwoven fabricsfor interlinings in Surat, whose built-up area is 25,000 sq. metres and has a production capacity of 2 crore metres per annum and also has a coating line. With the addition of the nonwovens facility, the production capacity of interlinings zoomed to 5 crore metres per year. “Within nonwoven interlinings production, we are among the top Indian manufacturers and when combining both weaving and nonwoven interlinings, we are among the top 10. We have branded our nonwoven interlinings as Fusewell, and so we are not selling it as a commodity product,” he informed.
Applications of Interlinings in the Garment Industry
Mr Mittal further said, “Applications for interlinings include collars, cuffs and plackets in shirts, waist area of trousers, blazers and also womenswear. Wherever there is a need to give a defined shape to a garment for a perfect wear, interlining would be needed. If an interlining used in a garment is not of good quality, they tend to fray which gives a bad look for the garment. We do continuous product development to improve the quality of our interlinings in order to stand to stand out from our competitors.”
Sustainable Manufacturing Practices and Certifications
90% of the nonwoven interlinings are produced from 100% recycled polyester fibres, while the woven interlinings are made from 100% cotton or polyester and also cotton and polyester blends. The nonwovens plant has zero air and water pollution, while carbon emissions are practically zero and plans are also afoot to install a solar plant which will meet 70% of electricity needs. The company is ISO 9001 certified and has also applied for GRS certification.
The woven interlinings business is handled by his uncles, Mr Pradeep Mittal and Mr Naresh Mittal while the nonwoven and digital sublimation printing business is being taken care of by Mr Ayush Mittal and his brothers Mr Shubham Mittal, Mr Nilesh Mittal and Mr Shivam Mittal.
New Nonwoven Production Line on the Horizon
“We are in the process of setting up another nonwoven production line after which our nonwovens interlinings capacity will increase by 1 crore metres and reach 3 crore metres per year and combined nonwovens and woven fabric interlinings capacity will reach 5.5 crore metres,” Mr Mittal concluded by saying while discussing their expansion plans.